Curved Surfaces

Curved surfaces are mentioned in the video, in relation to the curve on a MacBook. What are the capabilities for curved surfaces? How much difference in height/depth across an engravable surface can there be? How about severe curves, as in bottles or glasses for example?

BTW, I sold my vintage convertible to buy my Glowforge! :grin:

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Iā€™m not sure how youā€™ll get a bottle or glass in the Glowforge as Z axis clearance is a maximum of 1.5" with the floor removed. Iā€™m sure it will do most of one side of a pen though.

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The focusable depth is 0.5", so you can definitely do the top surface of a pen.

Weā€™re super flattered and are pretty sure you can make cooler stuff with your Glowforge than you can do with your convertible. :wink:

Hah! I just sold my 74 MGB convertible to do the same thing!

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Waitā€¦ I specifically bought my Glowforge to engrave my vintage convertible, and now I find the Z axis clearance isnā€™t big enough? Iā€™m shocked I tell yaā€¦

Seriously thoā€™, being able to put a 2x4 through the Pro model on itā€™s side (Z = 3 1ā„2") would be a monster architectural hit. Just a suggestion.

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Duly noted, Simon. (That sounds pretty awesome actually).

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I do wish it would be possible to increase the pass through height on the pro. I was hoping for something that could possibly make this baseball bat,

, possible. That all said, Iā€™m looking forward to possible stitch & glue kayak designs.

How high is the Proā€™s bay door? Also, how does the pro continue the cutting, does it sync cuts given the previous cutting having a known edge?

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I was thinking about how the continuous feed work would go, as well. Using the camera to sync seems the most likely. Sure, it isnā€™t possible with the Glowforge, but would the bat simply burn a strip at a time and line everything up with a similar syncing technique?

@koos42 the passthrough is 3/8, but itā€™s aligned with the tray to be optimized for 1/4" material.

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Is the 1.5" Z clearance the official number? Iā€™ve been looking around for that info and havenā€™t seen it anywhere else. I was wondering about engraving on something like a pint glass, for example, and wasnā€™t sure if the machine would be able to handle it.

Thank you!

While it seems that the Z clearance may not be enough for a pint glass or baseball bat, that doesnā€™t mean you canā€™t use the glowforge as an integral part of the creation process. The laser cutter should be able to cut a pretty good stencil from vinyl sticker for sand blasting or perhaps acid etching your drinkware.

@septimus39 - in my limited experience, laser etched glass is not terrific (other people may have better results). I have had much better luck laser-cutting stencils and then using that to etch the glass as stated by @koos42

koos42ā€¦ Just a heads up that you never want to cut vinyl in a laser cutter. Vinyl sheeting is made with Polvinyl Chloride (PVC). The chloride changes to chlorine gas when heated, and Iā€™m sure you donā€™t want Chlorine gas floating around your workspace.

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Good point. Now I have even more incentive to sell my 61 porsche. :slight_smile:

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No! Iā€™m all for the Glowforge, but not ā€œsell-the-Porscheā€ for it. Let alone a '61. (A 944, thatā€™s a different matter) :wink:

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I donā€™t think I could fit it in the Glowforge to engrave it anywayā€¦ :wink:

Is there another stenciling material people use instead of vinyl?

Mylar or any other polyester film should be able to accomplish what youā€™re trying to do. Canā€™t speak from experience though.

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I definitely sold my Chevrolet Nova to buy a Glowforge. Out with the old toys, in with the new tools!

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to make sure Iā€™m reading this right - we can cut/engrave up to 1.5" as long as it is small enough to fit inside the machine (without tray)? the passthrough cannot be used for anything larger than 1/4? I envisioned myself engraving lines and numbers on long boards for growth charts but would want to use thicker than 1/4 for something like that

PS I would love to see photos and videos of the machine being used with longer materials.

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